BLEACHERS BREW EST. MAY 2006

Someone asked me how my blog and newspaper column came to be titled "Bleachers Brew". It's like this, it's an amalgam of sorts of two things: The bleachers area in the stadium/arena where I used to sit when I would watch baseball, football, and basketball games and Miles Davis' great jazz album Bitches Brew. That's how it got culled together. I originally planned on calling it "The View from the Big Chair" that is a nod to Tears For Fear's second album, Songs from the Big Chair. So there.

Monday, May 22, 2017

As expected, the Philippines
romped away with the Seaba Men’s Championship. Quite a few timers on the team
were revelations – Roger Pogoy quietly made the starting unit and performed quite
well. Allein Maliksi showed that he belongs as well. Matthew Wright – he’s the
next big gunner on the team with Larry Fonacier retired from international
duty. Wright shot 54% from three-point range! Incredible.

If we were to name the best
performers from the tournament they would all come from the Philippines. So
since most people would know about the local boys, let’s take a look at the
other countries.

More than the Filipinos’ talent,
the Seaba championships provided the hoops fan with a front row seat to some of
the talent in the region and here are some players who I think are pretty good.

Abraham Grahita (5’10” shooting guard, Indonesia)

13.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, and
2.1 assists.

This guy can shoot with a 44%
accuracy rate. With opposing teams keying their defense on him, Indonesia has
to find ways to free him up or even better, get him to attack the basket.

Wong Wei Long (5’8” point guard, Singapore)

7.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.6
assists

I was tempted to go with small
forward Leon Kwek but I’d say that Wong is their best all-around player. Needs
to improve his shooting though to be more efficient and to free up his
teammates.

Wana Aung (6’1” small forward, Myanmar)

16.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.3
assists

Absolutely fearless. With more
experience and even better coaching this kid can be a force. He needs to be
exposed to top flight competition to learn. Along with power forward Thein “Phu”
Han who reminds me of former San Miguel Beer power forward Alvin Teng in his
robotic and mechanic al approach to basketball, Wana was one of the most entertaining
players to watch in the tournament.

Patiphan Klahan (6’6” small forward, Thailand)

7.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.0
blocks

He’s got potential. I’d even say
that given the chance and more exposure, he can even play in the PBA. Love the
length and his ability to cover the floor on both ends. Can shoot, can drive,
can post, can play defense. What’s not to like?

Chitchai Ananti (6”2” small forward, Thailand)

16.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7
assists

Love his ability to get to the
basket. The problem is when he is guarded well, there isn’t much he can do as
evidenced with the big fat egg he laid against the Philippines. If Ananti can
learn how to affect the game in other ways – defense or passing more – he’d be
a more dangerous player.

Le Ngoc Tu (6’1” small forward, Vietnam)

7.6 points, 3.5
rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.1 steals

Tough player.
Good floor leader for Vietnam. Stabilizes Vietnam’s offense. If he can improve
his field goal shooting and get a better feel for the game, he could be a top
flight point guard. But Le Ngoc Tu is a tough player.

Honorable mention:

Thailand has
some pretty good ballers. Wutipong Dasom is one. Scored a tournament high 40
points. But that was against Myanmar. He’s got skills though. Another is shooting
guard Kannut Samerjai and power forward Sukhdave Ghogar.

I like
Indonesia’s Arki Wisnu. Wish we saw more of him. Like a more mobile version of
Ken Bono. Christian Sitepu is a player similar to Indonesia’s Patiphan Klahan.
Consistency is key too.

I like
Singapore’s 6’7” center Delvin Goh. I’d say, he’d even be a serviceable center
in the PBA. Needs to work up on his post-up game though. And play a little
faster.